Enrico Castroflorio

PhD/FellowPhD Student

Former colleague

Center

NSYN@Unige Genova

Contacts

+39 010 5558 357

About

My research interests lay in understanding the molecular basis of epilepsy and autism. As an undergraduate in the laboratory directed by Dr. Maurizio Giustetto, my research focused in the cellular and molecular defects that affect nerve cells in the brain of Mecp2 mutants that represent a murine model of Rett Syndrome and Cdkl5 mutant mice that represent the murine model of the Hanefeld variant of Rett Syndrome. I have analyzed two different phosphorylation patterns of the ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6) in the brain of MeCP2, CDKL5 knockout and wild type mice at different postnatal ages. My experiments revealed a deficit in the activation of this pathway most likely leading to reduced rates of protein synthesis in different brain regions.

After my master degree, I have been in Lexington, Kentucky, like a Short Term Research Scholar in the department of Neurology at the University of Kentucky, in the laboratory directed by Dr. Franca Cambi. Here I was responsable of the molecular and biochemical experiments aimed to characterize a novel mouse model deficient of a kinase, named GSK3b, which they have found to regulate splicing and cell differentiation in oligodendrocytes during brain development.

I later joined Prof. Benfenati’s lab for my doctoral training, where I currently study the physiology of presynaptic plasticity, and different uncharacterized genes that have been found mutated in patients affected by different form of epilepsy. I hope this works further expands our knowledge about the molecular mechanisms at the basis of epilepsy, and other neurological and psychiatric disorders.

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IIT: the numbers

Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) is a public research institute that adopts the organizational model of a private law foundation. IIT is overseen by Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca and Ministero dell'Economia e delle Finanze (the Italian Ministries of Education, Economy and Finance). The Institute was set up according to Italian law 326/2003 with the objective of promoting excellence in basic and applied research andfostering Italy’s economic development. Construction of the Laboratories started in 2006 and finished in 2009.

IIT has an overall staff of about 1,440 people. The scientific staff covers about 85% of the total. Out of 45% of researchers coming from abroad 29% are foreigners coming from more than 50 countries and 16% are returned Italians. The scientific staff currently consists of approximately 60 Principal Investigators, 110 researchers and technologists, 350 post-docs and 500 PhD students and grant holders and 130 technicians. External funding has allowed the creation of more than 330 positions . The average age is 34 and the gender balance proportion is 41% female against 59% male.

In 2015 IIT received 96 million euros in public funding (accounting for 80% of its budget) and obtained 22 million euros in external funding (accounting for 20% of its budget). External funding comes from 18 European Projects, other 17 national and international competitive projects and approximately 60 industrial projects.

So far IIT accounts for: about 6990 publications, more than 130 European grants and 11 ERC grants, more than 350 patents or patent applications, 12 up start-ups and as many which are about to be launched. The Institute’s scientific activity has been further strengthened since 2009 with the establishment of 11 research nodes throughout Italy (Torino, Milano, Trento, Parma, Roma, Pisa, Napoli, Lecce, Ferrara) and abroad (MIT and Harvard University, USA), which, along with the Genoa-based Central Lab, implement the research programs included in the 2015-2017 Strategic Plan.